The Internet has redefined how consumers and businesses interact with each other, providing instant access for consumers to online purchasing, and creating a unique marketing and distribution channel for businesses to reach their audiences. Businesses have been able to increase the effectiveness of targeting customers through the web, however the art and science of reaching target audiences online is still very much in development.
E-commerce (electronic commerce) has empowered consumers with the ability to obtain information on anything for sale online, at anytime, from hundreds of millions of contributors around the world. Existing recommendation systems in online e-commerce portals allow users to research and create recommendations on items and services for sale, restaurants, locations, and so forth. Many of these systems allow for open access; in other words, anyone, anywhere can create content (i.e. a recommendation). Systems for providing recommendations based on relationships to an individual searching for information online have not yet evolved to a mature state. At most, recommendations may take into account relationships that interested parties have with items similarly bought or browsed by other consumers.
Another type of application on the Internet that has recently grown in popularity is the social network. Social networks allow individuals to connect with others through a mapping of relationships, whether they are representations of personal friendships, business relationships, common interests, or other relationships. Social networks have attempted to incorporate e-commerce functionality through targeted and non-targeted advertising systems, but these technologies have not yet developed to their full potential. Social networks are rich in relationship information, but have yet to harness it to empower businesses to connect with individuals, and vice-versa.